Likud and Smotrich's Religious Zionism Gain Strength in Latest Israeli Poll

A recent Channel 12 poll shows the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, strengthening to 23 seats, matching the 23 seats of Gadi Eizenkot's Yisrael party. This marks a one-seat gain for Likud compared to the previous poll, while Yisrael maintains its position as one of Israel's two largest parties. Naftali Bennett's Yachdut party holds steady with 14 seats, halting a previous decline. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, remain stable at 10 seats, and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu holds 9 seats.

Within the coalition bloc, United Torah Judaism retains 8 seats, but Shas and Otzma Yehudit both weaken to 7 seats each. Conversely, Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party gains one seat, rising to 5 seats. At the lower end, the Hadash-Ta'al alliance led by Yousef Jabareen and Ahmad Tibi, and Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party each hold 5 seats. The Zionist Veterans party, led by Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, crosses the electoral threshold again with 4 seats. Blue and White, under Benny Gantz, and Balad, led by Sami Abu Shehadeh, fail to pass the threshold with 1.4% and 0.8% respectively.

The poll indicates no change in the overall bloc distribution: Netanyahu's coalition bloc holds 50 seats, while the opposition bloc, including Arab parties, totals 70 seats. This reflects a continued advantage for the anti-Netanyahu coalition in the Knesset.

Summary: A Channel 12 poll shows Likud and Religious Zionism gaining seats, with Netanyahu's coalition holding 50 seats against 70 for the opposition bloc including Arab parties.